The Journey of Hi-Fi
by Lancelotlaureate
Summary: The little panda bear toy belonging to Steven Taylor goes on a long journey.


...

The gentle humming of the interior of the TARDIS awoke Dodo from a terrible nightmare. She'd imagined vicious creatures trying to eat her, and had dreamt that the Doctor was in danger. But unlike her dreams when she was home on Earth, these dreams felt very much real. When she awoke in a cold sweat, she blearily rubbed her eyes and turned on the bedside lamp. Out of habit she went to check the clock, but of course time was rather an unusual concept in a time and space machine.

"Doctor?" she called quietly, but she guessed he was asleep so decided to take a walk around the ship to clear her thoughts and take time to relax. There was something strangely calming about the white of the corridors, and Dodo often wandered them at night, pretending she was in some sort of fantastical labyrinth- which in many ways she was- she had no idea how big the ship was, or if it even ended at all!

She stopped when she arrived outside the bedroom Steven had slept in before he stayed behind to become a leader. A leader! It still made Dodo giggle to think of him being so big and in charge. Although he'd only been gone a few days, she already missed him. She wandered into his room- everything was as he had left it. His stripy brown and yellow jumper was hanging on the door, and a rather unflattering cardigan was draped on the bed next to a book he'd been reading. Dodo glanced at the book.

"Monsters from Outer Space?" she read aloud. She laughed and opened the book to have a look. Inside the cover it said ' _Ian Chesterton'_ in some kind of ink. She smiled and placed it back onto the bed gently. Glancing around the room and thinking about her friend, she saw Hi-Fi the cuddly toy panda nestling softly on the shelf next to many gadgets she couldn't make head or tail of. She reached put and picked up the little panda.

"Oh Hi-Fi, he never got time to take you with him."

The little panda looked sad, well...she thought he looked sad, or maybe that was because she felt incredibly miserable seeing the two friends separated. And she was separated from Steven too. That hurt her a lot. She'd never had many friends.

"I guess we're going to have to look out for each other aren't we?" she said shaking his little head up and down as if to agree with her. She gave it a quick cuddle and then placed him back on the shelf. She walked back to the door and then looked one last time at Steven's room.

"We're all proud of you Steven," she said softly as she closed the door.

...

The Doctor staggered into the ship, his eyes alight with concern but also curiosity. A strange glow resonated from within him and he stood at the console as the rotor started to rise and fall, and the switches and levers started to move erratically as though they were all alive and channelling the feelings of the Doctor. He placed his hand gently on the console, feeling it for the last time with his hand, it felt strangely cold as if the atmosphere outside of the ship had drawn itself inwards. He coughed slightly and started to feel dizzy, his vision blurred and he started to stumble to the floor. As he did so, he took a lingering look at the console; his eyes could still make out the colours and shapes. He smiled when he saw the outline of the cuddly toy panda sitting on the side of the console, the panda's black and white colour distorting as the Doctor's eyes started to lose sight of everything around him.

"Steven..." he let out with a whisper. "Hi-Fi..."

Blackness.

...

Jamie saw the light on in Victoria's bedroom and knocked on the door gently.

"Victoria?" he called. "Are you alright in there?"

Victoria wiped away the stray tears on her cheeks and quickly neatened herself up. "I'm perfectly alright, Jamie."

"Aye well if you feel like coming out, the Doctor and I are playing draughts. He always cheats. I could do with your help."

"I'll be out in a moment," she called back to him.

"Now are you sure you're alright? Do you want me to come in there?"

"No, honestly Jamie, I'm fine. I'll be out in a moment."

Jamie sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He just didn't understand women sometimes- they were always acting in a peculiar fashion and never said what they actually meant.

When she was sure he was gone, Victoria sighed and sat down on the old fashioned rocking chair the Doctor had given her to make her feel more connected to home. As she sat down she could swear she heard a yelp and she felt something uncomfortable beneath her. She got up sharply and noticed that the cuddly panda toy was now on the chair. She was a little bit confused, she'd never seen it before, and she certainly didn't remember it being there a few minutes earlier. Did Jamie somehow sneak it in to cheer her up?

"Hello little bear," she said with a little giggle. "I'm Victoria. You look just like a toy I used to have, it was my mother's. She'd have liked you very much, probably put you pride of place on her dressing table."

Victoria smiled at the panda and gently touched its little button eyes. "I don't know why but you make me feel a lot more relaxed."

She cuddled the bear and then placed him on the rocking chair. "Now you sit here until I get back. I've got to go and referee a game between Jamie and the Doctor!"

...

"Doctor, I don't understand why you're doing this the old fashioned way," Zoe said with her arms folded in annoyance. "You're making a mess."

"Call it a hobby, Zoe. Sometimes I like to do a Jamie and go all primitive. Having primeval plumbing and then fixing it myself keeps me calm."

"But it's completely unnecessary in a ship like this."

"That is correct, Zoe, but unnecessary things are sometimes the most fun."

She laughed and sensing his eagerness to continue she left him to it. "Be careful though, Doctor, there's a potential flood hazard in here."

He waved her away and then looked down at the mass of tubing and pipes. "Now, what have we here? Oh now you don't belong there do you?"

He reached over to pick up a spanner from the side panel but as his hands grabbed something he realised it was not what he had expected. He pulled the toy panda down from the panel and held it up in front of him. "Hm, now how did you get here? I must say you're looking a little worn."

He tapped the panda gently on the head and then set him on the floor next to an array of tools scattered everywhere in a horrible mess. "Now if I just pull this-"he began as he pulled a large section of tubing and his tongue peaked out of his mouth in glee. As he pulled the pipe away, the whole thing fell off and water started gushing everywhere. The Doctor leapt up and started running up and down trying not to get his feet wet.

"Oh crumbs! Oh my giddy aunt!" he screamed as he raced around the water logged floor trying to think of what to do. He looked down at Hi-Fi who was now submerged in a puddle of water. The Doctor gasped and picked him up from the water.

"Oh dear, you are a bit wet aren't you?" he said. "After I've finished here, we must dry you off."

A moment later Zoe walked into the room and sighed. "I knew it."

...

The UNIT office party had gone into the early hours of the morning and the Brigadier, having had too much to drink, had gone into the science lab to have a quick kip. He rested his head on the work bench and not before long his loud snores echoed around the room, his mustache twitching with every snore, and a puddle of dribble fell onto the desk from his mouth.

A loud bang awoke him and he sat to immediate attention. "What is it Captain Yates?" he said on auto-pilot, even though Captain Yates wasn't in the room. There was no reply and he surveyed the room to find that he was alone. "What was that noise?"

As he focused his eyes he could see something coming out of the TARDIS in the corner of the room. It looked large and fluffy, like a man in a panda bear costume.

"Sgt. Benton, is that you?" he asked with a husky voice. "Stop these shenanigans and help me to a taxi."

The panda bear didn't reply, instead it walked towards him and reached his hands out towards the man. The Brigadier's body tightened and he stepped back. "Now, what manner of enemy are you? There's not a sinister being lurking there is there? Master, is that you?"

The panda shook its head and suddenly-much to the Brigadier's surprise- a sweet little voice came out of the cuddly bear.

"You could do with a hug Lethbridge-Stewart. Hugs are good for us all."

"Cuddly bears coming to life? The scary thing is that this is not something so out of the ordinary around here. Now, I appreciate the offer but I'd rather you explained what you were doing here and made no unnecessary bodily contact."

The bear ignored the Brigadier and without warning draped its big fluffy arms tightly around the military man's chest. He picked him up and started to cuddle him. The Brigadier wasn't sure what was worse, the humiliation of being swung about by a life size panda toy- or the fact that he felt like he could throw up at any moment.

"Unhand me whatever you are!" he said with an authoritative bellow, and the panda retreated almost like he was upset and rejected. As the Brigadier rubbed his eyes, the panda had disappeared, just like that, vanished into thin air. The Brigadier sat back down and looked around in shock. "What did Captain Yates put in my drink?"

He was about to drift off to sleep again when the door flung open and Jo Grant, Captain Yates, and Sgt. Benton entered looking rather merry.

"Oh there you are sir," Benton said. "We were looking for you. Would you like a lift home? Sgt. Miller is sober and has been roped into being the designated driver."

The Brigadier nodded.

"Is everything alright Brigadier?" Jo asked as she steadied herself against Yates' shoulder. "You look a little-"

"I'm perfectly alright Miss Grant, I just-"he stopped when he saw a cuddly toy panda sitting on the desk. It was a regular sized toy and appeared to be nestling in some of the Doctor's scientific papers. The Brigadier's eyebrow rose in annoyance. "What is this infernal toy doing here?" he said looking at the panda. "Would you kindly remove yourself from this establishment?"

The others looked at one another. Yates whispered to Jo. "Now he's finally lost it."

...

"Now, come along black and white teddy bear, time to play," Adric said as he placed Hi-Fi onto a little play mat in his TARDIS bedroom. "You're looking a little lonely, and we all get lonely sometimes don't we?"

Adric was about to pick the toy up and give it a squeeze when he turned to see that both Tegan and Nyssa were watching him from the doorway.

"Don't let us interrupt," Tegan said with a smirk. "A boy and his panda is an important relationship."

Nyssa joined her friend in some teasing. "I had no idea you played with toys, Adric."

Adric scoffed at them and flung Hi-Fi across the room. "I don't know what you two are talking about. I was just clearing away all this mess. That panda just came out of nowhere."

Tegan and Nyssa exchanged glances. "Whatever you say Adric, don't keep him up too late though, he's only a _little_ bear," Tegan said.

Adric folded his arms in protest. "Would you kindly get out of my room?"

"Don't worry Adric," Nyssa said. "We won't tell anyone, besides I think it's quite sweet. There's nothing wrong with a devotion to an inanimate object."

...

The Doctor slumped into his chair as the sound of the clock rung out around him. He took off his white cricket jumper and draped it across the back of his chair. He sighed. He noticed Hi-Fi was seated on the chair next to him. He picked the panda up and stared hard at it.

"Hi-Fi! long time, no see. I wonder how you got in-" he uttered before stopping abruptly. "Ah, yes, I suppose Adric left you in here...Adric..."

He sat silent for a moment and then quite unexpectedly let out a little laugh. "Oh what is it with this toy and my companions? Now, who did you belong to first? Ah yes it was Steven Taylor wasn't it? You, if I recall was his little mascot from the planet Mechanus."

The panda didn't reply. The Doctor paused for a moment, almost as if he was expecting him to. "It's funny; you live just as long as I do. You've seen just as much through these doors as I have. The memories of many lives are found in one little children's toy. Well...rest well Hi-Fi, brave heart."

...

Mel was bent over touching her toes when the Doctor came into the room. He looked around and snorted in her direction, clearly not amused with the way she'd turned his study into some sort of gymnasium.

"Doctor, come here and join in, we've got quite the little workout going," she said as she began to remove his multi-coloured coat for him and lead him to the spot where she was exercising.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean 'we'? 'We' haven't started yet."

"Me and the panda bear there, silly. He can be our mascot."

The Doctor looked down to see that the cuddly toy panda was wearing a sweatband around his head. The Doctor frowned. "Oh poor little Hi-Fi, didn't bank on having to do all these stretches and number of awful routines."

"Remember, Doctor, a healthy body equals a healthy mind," Mel told him.

"I always thought it was the other way around. Keep the mind busy and the rest...well it catches up eventually. Besides, the mascot isn't actually alive now is he?"

"I don't know Doctor, I mean you'd think he was the way he just appeared the way he did."

"Ah yes, he has a habit of doing that. Theory is...he's looking for his master."

"His Master?" Mel let out. "Who's his master? He's just a panda bear."

She carried on stretching and let out a sigh. "I must say he does keep a smile on your face though."

The Doctor paced the room with no intent to do any of the workouts Mel had planned for him. "Yes, I must really take the old fella back to Steven, one day...yes, one day...but not yet!"

...

Ace was getting ready for their next adventure but had taken a moment to collect some things from her bedroom in the TARDIS. She felt a little sad and she wasn't entirely sure why. She felt like that sometimes, like there were things she was supposed to be doing yet she couldn't quite figure out what they were. She couldn't tell the Professor, even with the bond and the trust the two of them shared, there were still some things Ace was afraid to share with anybody. She circled the room, placing various bits and bobs into her backpack. The room was a mess, clothes everywhere and there was her boom box sitting on the bed. She sat down for a moment with a heavy sigh.

"Oh shake out of it Ace, there's a universe of possibilities out there."

"Ace!" she heard the Doctor call her from the main console room. "Haven't got all day...well we have but my time's a running out...shake a leg!"

"Coming Professor!"

She was about to leave the room when she stood on something. She looked down and scooped the cuddly panda toy into her arms. "Who do you belong to? I'm a bit old for toys. Still I think I used to have one like this...my Mum..."

She sighed and then looked deeply at the panda. "Are you taunting me or something? I suppose you could do with some fresh air, you look like you could do with a wash as well."

She laughed and then placed him gently inside her backpack next to the baseball bat. "Coming Professor!" she called.

...

Inside the lonely TARDIS as it stayed silent and unused, Hi-Fi sat alone, keeping warm by the faint life of the console. Martha Jones, dressed in her 1913 maid's uniform came into the ship and leaned against the console with a sigh.

"There's no one to talk to. He never told me what to do," she said to herself. "How could anybody understand?"

She saw the panda bear toy resting gently on the console and she seemed surprised. It certainly hadn't been there before. "Hello? How did you get there?"

Silence.

"Hang on, how _did_ you get there? That's impossible- no one's been here but me."

Silence.

"Ok...I'm talking...to a stuffed panda, now I know things have hit rock bottom."

She ran her fingers along the hexagonal console and circled the entire unit. She hated seeing it so lifeless. "Thing is, I just came with him. He never really explains and I just went along for the ride. Didn't even pay the bills or tell my Mum, I just got caught up in the excitement of it all. And now I'm talking to a panda toy...and you know what? It doesn't seem that strange."

...

"Doctor," Clara said as she entered the Doctor's bedroom. "I found a...bunk beds?"

The Doctor woke up from his slumber in the bottom bunk and seemed rather annoyed by her bursting in. "You found bunk beds?" he said, repeating her words.

"What? No!" she said with exasperation. "You have bunk beds?"

"Yes, I have bunk beds. There they are, one two, on top of the other."

Clara shook her head- she wasn't really at all surprised. "Anyway, I found this stuffed panda thingy just sitting in the console room, just...there. He's a bit mangy."

The Doctor sat up and snatched the toy from her and began stroking it gently. "Aw that's no way to speak to you is it? Did the nasty lady call you mangy?"

"Is he yours?"

"Of course he's not mine, he's a friend's."

"Well," Clara said sitting beside him on the bottom bunk. "Shouldn't we return him? Someone might be missing him. A girl I used to babysit lost a doll once, she was heartbroken."

"It's not only children who find company in these things, Clara."

"Ok, shall I leave you two alone then?"

The Doctor smiled lightly. "Just leave him there on the covers. He's an old friend, he can watch me sleep if he likes."

Clara seemed a little unsure but she helped tuck the Doctor in and placed Hi-Fi next to him on the cover. "Sleep tight, Doctor, and uh...panda."

...

Steven Taylor rolled over in his sleep, the light of morning streaming through the window. He yawned deeply and rose from his bed. His wife was sleeping peacefully and he decided not to wake her. As he made his way to the door he nearly stumbled on something on the floor. He noticed it was some kind of present with wrapping paper on it. Assuming it was from his wife he opened it and peered inside. His heart lifted, his eyes lit up with a sparkle of youth and he stared at the panda bear toy in the box.

"Hi-Fi? But how..."

He raced over to the window and looked out hoping to see the image of the TARDIS before him, but he saw nothing but the fields and rocky terrain that he saw every day.

"But..." he said and he scooped the panda out of the box and hugged him tightly. "I never thought I'd see those little button eyes ever again."

There was a little knock at the door and a little girl about seven years old raced into the room. Steven embraced her in a hug. "Daddy, I'm hungry," she told him.

Steven laughed. "Yes, we can eat soon. But first, what do you think of my new friend?" he said handing her Hi-Fi. The girl's face lit up in excitement.

"I've never seen anything like it before," she said with a giggle.

"No, you won't have, Dodo, you won't have. He's one of a kind."

...


End file.
